I agree with Danks too high & Porcello too low; very solid SP list tho. 1 poster says Santana too high, 1 too low; thats going to happen alot. Very difficult task to assign an exact rank, tough enuf to put 'em in tiers. Really a crapshoot where you throw guys like Hamels & Billingsley; do you take a safer option a little lower on the list. Peavy, Santana, Webb the great 1's from years past now not only out of the elite list but out of many peoples top 10 altogether.All in all a strong list, even better than the hitters in my opinion

Cliff Lee is probably someone I'll never own....not that I don't like him but others like him more than I do, in terms of fantasy. The 2 easiest, most stable fantasy stats(5x5) to predict for starters are WHIP and K and neither are Lee's calling card. You pretty much have to rely on great W and ERA numbers for him to be anywhere near top 10, which we know are the 2 stats that fluctuate the most. I haven't finalized my SP rankings yet but he's probably around 15 on my list...we'll see. I'll take someone who will get me 190+K and a guy who can consistantly give me a sub 1.20WHIP in the top 10.... if you get those numbers the W and ERA usually follow.

I'd find a way to fit Homer Bailey somwhere in this list. I think he turned the corner in his last 10 starts last year and could be a very solid pitcher if he can keep the walks down. He has the stuff to be an ace and he's still young.

TheNatinals wrote:I'd find a way to fit Homer Bailey somwhere in this list. I think he turned the corner in his last 10 starts last year and could be a very solid pitcher if he can keep the walks down. He has the stuff to be an ace and he's still young.

I wanted to squeeze a lot of guys into the top 100 and I guess if I was faced with the choice right now maybe I would take a younger guy like Bailey over a Jarrod Washburn or Carl Pavano. Homer Bailey, Ervin Santana (explain later), Aaron Laffey, Jake Westbrook, Chin-Meng Wang, Chris Tillman and Derrick Holland were all close to cracking the to 100. My rankings are based on a point system where I give him points based on my projected 5 x 5 statistics for them.

rookies and cream wrote:Could you please elaborate on your point system? Just curious...

Sure....this will sound VERY nerdy but first I do as much research about every player as possible, looking at their statistical trends, projecting what role they will play (batting order/bullpen roles ect.) If new information comes out (i.e. Bay just signed with the Mets, Cliff Lee now calls Safeco and one of the best defenses in baseball his own or Travis Hafner is still having pain in his shoulder, ect.) I modify the projections. I tinker with them pretty much until my draft. I usually only do 1 league per year to put all my focus into that one team. These list will likely look different in March when its time to draft.

Anyways, the formula I have is simple but it works. I have been using it for the past six years and I've got 4 championships, a 6th place finish and a 12th place finish. It goes like this: I reward all hitters 20 points per home run, 10 points per stolen base, and 5 points per run & rbi. For batting average I have a system i.e. batters I project with 400 PA or more get 1,000 points if they hit .350 or better. 900 points if they hit .330-.349 and so on and so on until I get to 100 points for an average of .240 and below. I also have a system for average with players 399 PA or less.

For pitchers I reward 40 points per win, 20 per save, 3 per strikeout. I also have a system for ERA and WHIP like I use for hitters batting average. Relief pitchers and starting pitchers have a diffeent formula for ERA and WHIP. I then adjust pitchers totals vs. hitters totals, for example Linecum comes out the points leader but there is no way I take him no.1 overall. I also will reward a few "bonus" points to catchers and middle infielders. The only thing for me hard to project is wins. Lets say Sabathia Greinke are equal in talent. I would project CC to have a few more wins because he plays on the Yankees and not the Royals.